Christ the King: Battered but not Beaten
BROOKLYN, NY – The Christ the King Royals entered the Xaverian Clippers gym on Sunday and on paper a, loss appeared to be a forgone conclusion. With four of its five starters missing in action an uphill battle to a win was an understatement. The Royals still found a way to best a tough Xaverian team, 61 – 58 in overtime and then some.
“Moussa Cisse ‘20 is out [with injury]. Quaron McPherson ‘20 is out [with injury]. Jared Harrison-Hunte ’19 is at the University of Miami [on football scholarship visit] and 5’10” Sterling Jones ‘21 got hurt in the begin of the game,” said Christ the King head coach Joe Arbitello. “I don’t care how many guys are hurt. There’re no excuses at Christ the King. Zero.”
Paced by offense from 5’10” sophomore combo guard Nick Folk ‘21 along with rebounding from 6’7” Michael Graham ‘19, Xaverian more than countered an early onslaught by Christ the King, giving the Clippers a 9-point lead after the first quarter ended.
The second quarter mostly favored Xaverian as well but the Royals began making inroads punctuated by strong midrange play by 6’5” Nate Curry ‘19. That, and a 2 – 3 zone began to erode the Clippers momentum and their lead. With 4 minutes left in the half, Ryan Myers ‘19 threaded the needle with a pass to Curry followed by a trey by 6’3” Malik Lacewell ‘19 which tied the game at 23. Xaverian briefly regained the lead until ‘6’1” Lovell Smith ‘20 drained a three-ball at the buzzer giving Christ the King 29 – 28 sliver of a lead but the upper hand at the half.
Folk continued to scorch the Royals from the perimeter but Christ the King held fast to its zone, challenging other Clippers to beat them. Xaverian received some inside play from Isaiah Amazon while the Royals got a jolt of offense from 6’0” Nick Molina ‘20 as the lead zigged and zagged. As the third quarter ended, the Clippers were up by three points.
That lead quickly evaporated with both team racing neck and neck for the finish line and a win. Both teams were compromised. Christ the King was without key players while Xaverian was minus its head coach Clyde Chapman who was still barred from coaching due to a previous ejection. With assistant coach Dion Mozelle at the helm, the Clippers were up by a deuce with a minute left to play but a hook by Curry sent the game into overtime. Knotted at 54.
In OT, turnovers plagued Xaverian while Myers and Curry hit clutch buckets that secured the win. Curry notched a double-double for Christ the King with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Myers and Lacewell contributed 11 points and 8 points respectively. Folk led all scores netting a game high 26 points
“We beat that Vashon (MO) team on ESPN the other day with that team we had on the floor [today] and [Vashon] just beat L.I. Lutheran,” said Coach Arbitello attesting to how his team willed a victory with mostly role players on the court. “I bet you couldn’t name three of the guys on the court but there’s a culture at Christ the King. I think all the guys brought into that.”
